Farmer John Goes to Market

Type: Initiatives

Props: None

Recommended Group Size: Between 4 and 10

Directions:  Make two boundaries (i.e. rope or line in the ground) to create a river.  Tell the following story (or your own version): "A farmer is heading to the market.  In his (or her) cart he has chickens, corn, and a fox.  He intends to sell all these at the market.  On his way he came across a stream.   The boat to cross is very small and the farmer can only take a small load each time." Assign roles to the participants (Farmer, Chickens, Bags of corn, fox).  They must figure out how to get across. Here's the problem: you can't let the fox be alone with the chickens and the chickens can't be alone with the bags of corn. (Remember: There is no limit to how many times the farmer can cross and items can be brought back across the river if they need to).

Solution: Farmer takes chickens over, then farmer takes fox over and returns with chickens, farmer then takes bags of corn over, then farmer comes back and gets chickens.

Activity Specific:  Land based; General (can be done during any trip)

Processing Outcomes: Communication,  Decision Making, Problem Solving


Time Needed: 20 - 30 min